Siena Heights women's basketball tops Indiana Tech

Sunday

Dec 9, 2012 at 11:44 AMDec 9, 2012 at 8:09 PM

Saints rebound from tough loss earlier in the week

By Jay NicolsDaily Telegram Special Writer

The Siena Heights University women's basketball team rebounded from a tough loss earlier in the week to nationally-ranked Davenport to upend Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference foe Indiana Tech 60-43 on Saturday.

Siena Heights (7-3, 4-2 WHAC) went on an 11-0 run to start the game and never looked back.

Amanda Duke got the scoring started with a layup, and Morgan Warfield came back down the court and sank a 3-pointer. Warfield then hit her next two 3s for the Saints.

"We just have such an ability to score evenly," Siena Heights coach Sue Syljebeck said. "If one takes off, they take off. Morgan hit that first one, and if she hits that first one you feel pretty good about the game. Her shot ignites our team."

The Saints surged past Indiana Tech (2-9, 2-4) to close the first half with a 16-2 run, capped by a Duke layup with 27 seconds left.

Defensively, the Saints were strong from the start. They kept Indiana Tech's leading scorer, Ulyssia Richmond, to two points in 23 minutes. The Saints had the edge on the glass with 47 rebounds, kept the Warriors to 27 percent shooting and kept Indiana Tech 24 points below its season average.

"We kind of took that aggression from that last loss and took it out on them," said Saints forward Amanda Duke. "We were working hard, because we knew they were an athletic team, so we had to come out strong or we knew it could be a close game."

In the second half, Siena Heights continued to pressure the Warriors, limiting them to six points in the first 10 minutes of the half. The Saints scored 14 points in the paint and had six second-chance points in the half.

Warfield was 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half, finishing the game with 12 points. Duke ended the game with 14 points and nine rebounds. Sierra Calhoun had 10 points and six rebounds to go with three assists. Grace Howrigon finished with two points, five rebounds, and five assists.

The Saints shot 63 percent from the 3-point range and 42 percent from the field.

"We don't have that kid that goes for 18 and 16, but we have a bunch of kids that can all score," said Syljebeck. "I think that makes us tough to guard. If you look at our box score, we have seven people averaging seven or eight points or more a game.

"It's because we are so balanced, and I believe that teams like us are harder to guard. You can't just stop one or two players; you have to stop our team."